Beadle's Half Dime Library No. 628 — page 5: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

> +“ — CHAPTER V. THE SWORN SEVEN’S SCHEME, ‘s WHALEBONE,” as he was called, was about the oldest man of the Seven. He had at one eriod of his life been a sailor, and this gave Broadway Billy’s Dead Act. ‘Tf we don’t,” asserted the captain, ‘* we shall surely hang together for the good of the public at large, and that you may depend on,” This mild joke brought a laugh from them all, Much more was said, and the whole plan for im the peculiar name he now bore, inasmuchas | the intended dastardly crime of the morrow was he had been on a whaling vessel. Previously to that he had won distinction as a “orook” in New York, and when he tired of a seafaring life he naturally fell back into his _ former walk. ‘¢ What I was thinkin’ on,” he set out to ex- plain, ‘‘ was that I don’t like th’ idee o’ the crews ©’ them crafts bein’ along.” ““ We can’t help that,” said the captain; ‘‘ we couldn't get along without them, and to try to do so would arouse suspicion. Don’t you see that it would?” ‘‘T reckon that you are right, an’ here is th’ other p’int: Wouldn’t it be better fer us fellers ter be absent from th’ yacht, but be on hand in a smaller boat ter take a hand in th’ rescue business?” ‘Cause, we have ter go aboard as your party, an’ you would have ter account fer us in some way. Don’t ye see ye would? If you said we was Growned, you then would have ter tell who we was; an’ th’ same if we wasn’t.” The captain was thoughtful for some time, ‘*T see the case,” he said, ‘* and it looks a little awkward; but, at the same time, I think I see the way around it, You must be on the tug instead of on the yacht, and from there make the rescue, The tug will assist in the work, and there need be no danger to any one but the man I have in- dicated.” ‘You are comin’ at it now,” agreed Whale- bone, '* but kin I add one more word to it?” ‘* Go right ahead.” ‘Well, I think I ki. “prove on th’ bull thing. Why not let th’ capiain of th’ tug ship us as his crew fer th’ once, an’-— But tbat won't do, nuther, It ain’t no easy thing ter git around. I begin—” ‘*T have it now,” the captain interrupted, ‘and there need be no more parley over it, The plan will remain the same, except that I will reduce the force, and will not have any of you on the tug.” ‘* How will you do it that way?” ‘*T wo of you, Mousey and Bob, will go on the yacht. You will not know me, but will go ulong as friends of the expected man. I will give you his name later on, There will be others there, of course, buf you need not mingle with them. Be well dressed, and wear all the airs you can, but don’t overdo it. Both of you are good swimmers. Make sure of your work, and then get to shore. I[t will be thought that you drowned. Noone will know who you were. I will make it my business to rescue the lady. The tug will put forth every effort to save the others, ‘The captains, well paid, and afraid to let out the truth, will make upa story of mis- understanding of signals. Can any of you add to that?’ “That is jest th’ ticket,” agreed Whalebone immediately. ** Nothin’ is th’ matter with that,” said Short- legs, ** but where does our share of th’ fun an’ profits come in?” ‘“You will have to lose the fun,” answered the captain, “‘but I will pay you all just as though you were taking part in the scheme. Isn*t that fair?” ‘That is fair,” acknowledged Crackers, ‘‘ see- in’ that ye can’t use us,” ‘ And you all agree to it?” ‘We do.” ‘Tt is well, And now, men of the League of the Sworn Seven, pledge yourselves to secrecy in regard to the matter, and swear that you will remain true to our oaths and purposes,” Each man took up the sword that was in front of him, and repeated after the chief a most blood-curdling oath of allegiance to him, aud submission to his orders, no matter what they might be. ; ‘Tt is well,’ Captain Iron-grip said again, when they bad satdown, ‘* Be true to me and ‘to each other, and I will make you all rich; be false, and— But you know what to look for in that case, and you know my power.” * It was clear that the six men were completely under his authority, and tbat they were afraid ot him, It was equally clear that they had con- fidence in him, and were only too glad to serve him, Further, they had mutual interests that made it binding upon them to remain true to each other. “Our interests is common,” owned Mousey, *“‘an' we are bound ter hang together fer our Own good,” * ¥ 7 ’ , : 7 J ’ A i ® b- M “ 4 e be s? a I if ye rs a Pe aa ¥ J . i" as i <¥ + ai . 4 & * ae “ im Ls © = ~~ 1 ve a oe *, ret fal aN Day Nias 3) EE TTT TEE EEE ETT EEE tt LL LL ——-—ssssi 6 “ , . ve Wee talked over and over until it was made as per- fect as they could make it, When they were about done and ready to leave that chamber of horrors, the chief in- quired; ‘* By the way, you must all be as wary as old foxes in vecard. to that case of the boy, and also that other one,” ‘*No need ter tell us ter do that,” answered the one called Bob. ‘*No harm done to remind you of it. Use your utmost caution. What is the prospect of another victim in that line?” ** We have our eyes on two or three of ’em,” was the reply, ‘‘an’ may make a haul at any time. We are after ’em, an’ we will pay ’em up fer th’ pards o’ ours that is jugged up th’ river.” ‘*Good! Go for them whenever you have a chance, and | will help you alll can. Well, we must break up, for [ have an engagement, and it is near ten o’clock.” A certain form was then gone through with, there in the presence of those awful skeletons, a form that was neers for the others, but which was all bosh to the chief; and then the lights were turned out, and thev returned to the room where we [first found them. There the captain left them, after again re- minding them of the great importance of the work of the morrow, W hat if they bad known that their entire talk had been overbeard, cautious as they had been, and secure as they felt themselves? Such was the truth. There had been a lis- tener, and for them a most dangerous one, Who was it? Under the floor of the very place in which they had been assembled, lying flat on his sto- mach in the dust and dirt, where at a glance it would seem that there was barely space for a cat to crawl, was the form of a boy. And that boy was— Broadway Billy? Does the reader so guess? If so, then the reader, usu- ally quick to guess aright, is for the once mis- taken. How could it be, with such proof that Billy was dead? No, it was not he, For a moment let us digress, and look at the fate Billy bad met. Bound hand and foot with wire, tied up in a sack, a heavy weight attached to his feet, he bad been dropped at midnight into the deep, dark waters ot New York Bay, Could he be otherwise than dead? Further, his body had been found, positively identified, and buried. No, this boy who had overheard the plot of the Sworn Seven was not Broadway Billy. In truth, it would have been utterly impossible for Billy to have gained access to the place this boy was in, The beams and floor were but very little above the ground, and the whole space between was almost filled with dirt and rubbish of all sorts, It was a stifling, foul-smelling hole, a good den for rats—and there were many of them around, but not a fit place for any human being to enter, But, any one would have asserted that it would have been an utter impossibility for any one to enter there, however much be might have de- siren to do so, and no matter how small he might e. Still it was proved not to be impossible, for here was this boy, alive and in sound condition of mind and body, lying there in the manner de- scribed, But, who was be? and what had brought him there? That boy was none other than Skinny, Broad- way Billy’s sbhadow-like partner! : Some hours earlier in the evening Skinny had been attending to business at the corner stand, and, at the same time, attending to a hot sup- per which his mother had carried to him. As Skinny was now practically alone in the man- agement of that extensive business, it required all his time, and he could not get away to either dinner or supper. He was eating away, talking to his mother as he did so, stopping frequently to wait upon cus- tomers as they came up. | The pair were discussing the future, wonder- ing what action Billy’s mother would want to take in regard to the business, when a young man of about twenty-five came along, glanced at the stand, appearing to take in its extensive draping with a good deal of interest: He was a thin and pale young fellow, looking older than he evidently was, and Skinny was : . J 4 ie? OP sy mn a Me 1 aten oY i te aa Ye. Phy: ys Pe ’ : ra J st Vhs Loe k Nee 3 ¢ npat . ad ov » ’ ; a *F ‘+ aie 8 nt) ys . Phas + ge IS NS RET ae ye "et G Sf ny 7 raty not at all favorably impressed with his appears ance, He stopped, stepped up, and inquired; ‘* Who is dead, young feller?” ‘*My pardner,” Skinny answered, ‘* Your pardner, eh?” with a shght smile that caused Skinny to bate him most heartily, ** Yes,” he answered, ** T think I knowed him,” the young man went on, again showing bis teeth in a death-like grin; ‘*what did he die of? ’ ‘It wasn’t with softenin’ o’ th’ brain, any- how,” Skinny made reply, throwing something of Billy’s manner into the words, ‘* Mebby it was too much smartness,” the fel- low suggested, in a way that made Skinny in- stantly suspicious, and with another of his Satanic grins he turned away. Skinny’s breath came bard and fast, For the first time in his life he felt a touch of the real detective fever upon him. Did this fellow know anything about Billy’s fate? If he lost sight of him now he might never see him again, and would never know. It was now or never, “Tend ter biz, mom,” he cried; ** I am goin’ after that feller like hot shot. I want ter know where he roosts, as Billy uster say. If I don’t it back at closin’ time, shut up shop an’ go 10me,” His mother was about to protest, but Skinny did not wait to hear what she had to say, Grab- bing his hat, he darted away like a veritable shadow after the man he wanted to keep in sight. ‘He followed the man toa miserable-looking den on a miserable street, saw him enter, and wanted to know more, He looked around, and finally found a very small holein the foundation. Into that he squeezed bimself, hoping that he might hear something of interest, He could not have done better, if he had had a dozen ways to select from. Whathis success was has been told. CHAPTER VI EXPECTANT PLEASURE, WHEN the conversation in the room ceased, as recorded, and the men separated, the under- the-floor spy drew a long breath of relief and gaye utterance to an ejaculation, ‘‘ Great gin- ger! ‘* Well, of all th’ things that I ever thought about or ever dreamed, about,” be finally man- aged to mutter to himself, ‘‘tbis just takes the lead. What would Billy say if— But, poor Billy! he is gone, and there is no bringing him back. But, whew! here I have got th’ bull thing right in my hands, an’ all I have got ter do is ter onwind it to th’ detectives, as Billy would say, and they will have their men, That will be jest glorious. But, who in tbh’ world would ever thought o’ me turnin’ detective? Vl be hanged if I kin wonder now at th’ way Billy uster like it. Why, I would wade inter blood right up ter my neck, now, ter bring them feilers ter ’count! hy, it is so surprisin’ that L kin hardly believe that I ain’t dreamin’.” And indeed it was enough to stagger bim., This was his first adventure of the kind, of so serious a nature, at any rate, and here he had not only Jearned of the fate of his partner, but held information regarding anotber plot that would no doubt prove the saving of a life and bring its projectors to account. ‘* Poor Billy! if be could only see me now,” Skinny lamented, ‘‘what would he say? It would strike him dumb an’ foolish. He wouldn’t know what to make of it, I ruther guess, But "—and a long sigh ended the vain specu- lation, Some of the villains were gone, and Skinny now began to think about getting out of his close quarters and placing the information he had gained into hands that could turn it to ac- count. Creeping along under the floor, he was, ere long, under the first room of the den, where some of the men had resumed their drinking, smoking, and card-playing, Here he listened for some time to their con- versation, but, failing to learn anything of in- terest to him, and anxious to get away, he con- tinued to wiggle his way toward the hole where he bad found entrance, There was a wall in the way, some of the dis- tance, which inclosed what the boy thought must be a cellar, and which he had not encoun- tered in coming in. It took time and trouble for bim to get around that, and once he got into a place where he thought he was certainly stuck fast; but he got loose again, and went on in bis search for the outlet. Finally he found it, and putting his head out yy Wi cbooks.com /_ 7) ty”. Leet? ~ is mt - he : ie e any ® «) ‘ 4 e. van | \ \z £ a-r ~~ , \ ‘ ; he ey abet rae = ‘ 7 O | 3 - gg > aetna. » + wee 5 | y aY a” xz u ae ty al i te | a i]